The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-11
DEFINING PROVIDENCE.
SERMON OF DIR. BACON, OF THE
INDEPENDENT PRESBYTE-
RAN CHURCH.
a Popular Religious Error Confronted
with Scriptural Argument.


with Scriptural Argument.
Considering the weather, it was a fairly
large assembly that gathered yesterday in
the lecture-room of the Independent Presby-
terrain Church for morning worship. The
theme of DIR. BacoHs sermon was the Misin-
depreciation of Providence a subject near
ty akin to that of his discourse of week ago.
The sermon was as follows:
Acts H. 3D. Him being delivered up by the
deternnate counsel and fOreknOwledge Of God,
We by the hand of lawless men did cruelty and
slay; whom God raised up. tR W
Here we have set forth to the world in an
implication that is stronger than any state
ment could be, divine doctrine concerning
the Interpretation of Providence, to-wit: that
the recognizing Of an event as taking place
in accordance with the Divine providence
and purpose does not in the least imply any
approval of the human acts or agents by
which the event was brought about. Let
me repeat this, for it is scriptural teach
ing of the greatest practical Importance to
your religious happiness and your stead
fastness in the Christian faith, The fact
that an event takes place in accordance
with Gods providence and purpose, implies
no approval of the human agency by which
1t is effected, and no censure of those who
may have suffered from it; and further
fict between opposing human forces, the is
sue implies no divine adjudication of any
question of right and wrong
between the conflicting parties. This
doctrine is taught so persistently,
and with such impressive Teiteration through
Old Testament and New, by book after book,
in century after century, that it ought TO
be superfluous TO argue it here before PEG
pie conversant with the Bible. But it is not
superf1uous.
MISCHIEF-MAKING ERROR.
1.-THE reason why this truth is so insisted
on in the Scriptures, doubtless, Is the persist
ent tendency of human nature 10 err from
it. 1t was an old and prevalent error as
long ago as the days of the book Of Job. 1t
was persistent and inveterate still in the
time of Christ notwithstanding the clear
teaching of psalmists and prophets; and to-
day, notwithstanding the added teaching of
Christ himself, in the plainest and
clearest language, the same error which
He refuted and rebuked is prevalent and
obstinate still even in Christs own church
And see the mischief that is wrought by this
unscriptural delusion Because of il, there
are honest souls that go year after year
under clouds of depression and needless per
plexity. Some lose God out of the world
will not believe that He can really be the
controller of events which fall out in way
which they think contrary to right and
equity. Some lose their grasp of the princi-
piles of right and wrong; and when the UNI
godly prosper in this world, they begin to
reason that then ungodlinesS is right; and SO
their foolish heart is darkened. Some dwell
in bitter retrospects of life, conceiving that
TO be the mark of Gods disfavor toward
them which God himself begs us, with
tender and importunate reterations,
to recognize as the highest proof of his
fatherly affection. And finally, and worst
nj al af md h,.xr
since the miserable cOmforters of Job sat
down to convince him of his wrong-those
who make censorious Interpretation of
providential facts, so breaking the law of
Christ; who take calamity as an evidence of
wrong IN other men, and argue that the suf-
ferer must be proportionally n sinner O
the streams of spiritual unhappineSs and
wrong doing that have flowed in upon the
world and the church from this one source
OF error In the Interpretation of Providence
WRONG Is WRONG STILL
"And all the time we are utterly without
excuse for such error. Two entire books of
Holy Scripture are devoted to the
refutation of 1.-THE book of
Job and the book of Eccesiastes-it is the
theme of one of the greatest of the Psalms.
the seventy-third-an from page TO
page of both the TestamentS the di-
vine protest against it is renewed so often
that l know not how to choose the instance
Of it. What means this entreaty of David
In the seventeenth Psalm, Deliver my souI
from the wicked which is Thy sword
from men which are Thy hand. o Lord
men of the world that have their portion
in this lifeF-what but that he sees that the
present triumph of the wrong and the
wrongdoer, may be included in the pur-
poses of God, but that for all that
wrong is wrong, and the wrongloer
is wicked still Have you ever
taken the sence of that wonderful prophecy
III the tenth chapter of Isaiah in which
the word of the Lord apostrophzas
the conquering AsSyrian as he sweeps
along through the land of promise on his
career of unobstructed victoryl 'Ho AS
syrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in
whose hand is my Indignation l win send
him. viii give him a
charge. Howbeit, he meaneth
not 50, neither doth his heart think so:
but it is in his heart to destroy and TO
cut off nations not few But lit shall
come to pass that when the Lord hath per-
formed his whole work, | will
punish the fruit of the stout heart of the
King of Assyria, and the glory of his high
looks.
docs God give Judgment on the issue be
tween his people and this insulting heather
in the desolating campaign which scorches
into barrenness the sacred landi No. and
yet the conqueror in his cruel work is the
rod in Gods hand, which when the work is
done, according to Gods purpose, he shall
break asunder and fling in scorn upon the
heap, to be fuel for fire.
SINNERS ABOVE ALL OTHERS.
Turn to the New Testament. There was
multitude crowding about the Lord,
listening 10 His teaching, when there came
persons bringing news Of one of those fierce
and dreadful collisions between Hebrew
zeal and Roman discipline of which the
temple was the frequent scene A party of
worshipers from Galilee had been set upon
by Pilates soldiers, and lawful omeng their
sacrifices had been defiled by their own
blood. Do not think, says the Lord levi
IDENTIFY they were thinking it, according 10
that pertinacious blunder of mankind) do
not think that these were the greatest sin
neTs because they were the greatest suf-
ferers. Why, even when calamity
comes as If direct from the hand of God.
without any admiXture of mans malice
it is not distributed according TO any such
principle. You remember, he says. the
tower in Silwan. Il clearly recall the village
of which he spoke; they call il by the same
name to-day, Siloam--a hamlet outside the
walls of Jerusalem, on the steep slope beyond
the kedron, its foundations ciinging prcca-
riously TO the crumbling limestone of the
Mount of Olives) You remember, he saws
how the tower of Silwan fell, and eighteen